All of West Virginia's public schools are closed due to a teacher walk-out over pay

Public schools across West Virginia are closed Thursday as teachers and other school employees hit the picket lines, demanding higher wages and
better benefits.

According to Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA), teachers in all of the state's 55 counties are participating in
the planned two-day walk-out, and a group will march Thursday morning to the capitol building in Charleston.

Organizers expect thousands of teachers to participate.
West Virginia employs nearly 20,000 classroom teachers in its public schools and has more than 277,000 students enrolled, according to Alyssa Keedy of
the West Virginia Department of Education.

Good for them. Teachers everywhere are criminally underpaid but it is especially true in West Virginia. Hopefully teachers in other states still take
inspiration from their West Virginia counterparts and start taking their governments to task over the less than desirable conditions they and their
students are forced to put up with.

It's time we actually take education seriously in this country and provide the funding that it deserves.

$45,000/yr is about as good a job as you can get in West Virginia. On the state average I'd bet that puts them in the top 20% of earners. Compared to
the parents of the kids they're teaching they're pretty well off. Everyone is losing ground on healthcare so join the crowd. Find a job teaching in a
better paying state if that's your priority.

West Virginia is in the bottom 10 states for teacher pay but that does not make them underpaid when the rest of the state is languishing from high
unemployment and where median income is $14.79/hr or $35,000/yr.

On one hand they are breaking up kids routines and putting their education at risk with this, on the other hand I understand that when you feel
strongly about something, words hardly speak as loudly as actions.

Another fun fact about the Oklahoma school district I live in: the superintendent of the district, which has failed since she came on, makes over
250,000 dollars per year plus benefits, while first year teachers make between 18 and 25,000 per year. The district complains about why they cannot
hire enough new teachers to fill the classrooms.

originally posted by: Benderisfunny
Another fun fact about the Oklahoma school district I live in: the superintendent of the district, which has failed since she came on, makes over
250,000 dollars per year plus benefits, while first year teachers make between 18 and 25,000 per year. The district complains about why they cannot
hire enough new teachers to fill the classrooms.

So you don't think the CEO of the entire school system is worth $250k/yr?

Think of it this way, better paid teachers means happier teachers means better teachers. So in the end its beneficial for the students as well. In a
lot of places teachers have to take second jobs to make ends meet. If they're able to make a decent living just by teaching that means they have more
time to spend on developing lesson plans and giving more time to each student. Then of course there's the fact that teachers have to provide a large
number of the supplies for their classroom out of their own pocket. More money for the teachers means more money they can spend on better supplies for
the students.

This obviously is a state by state issue.
I am only familiar with the system in indiana by having several teachers in my family.

They are paid pretty well here considering the benefits of the job.
Great insurance with low premiums.
Fair pention plans.
And nearly four months off per year.
That's two plus months in the summer and two weeks between semesters.

Putting up with the fricken kids is the worst part of the job. Cuz autistic Jimmy has to be in regular class so he feels normal..

originally posted by: Benderisfunny
Another fun fact about the Oklahoma school district I live in: the superintendent of the district, which has failed since she came on, makes over
250,000 dollars per year plus benefits, while first year teachers make between 18 and 25,000 per year. The district complains about why they cannot
hire enough new teachers to fill the classrooms.

So you don't think the CEO of the entire school system is worth $250k/yr?

Ours is around $150k with bennies.
Fort Wayne schools is more like $250k but it's a much bigger system.

But to answer your question,
The jobs worth the pay, but the idiots in those jobs are not...

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